BEAUMONT, Tex. — Two games into the season, and the Lamar Cardinals have the look of a top team in the Southland Conference in 2017-18.

The Cardinals came into Thursday with a 2-0 record, and were looking to make it three straight wins to open the season when they took on the Jarvis Christian Bulldogs in Beaumont, Texas. Wins over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane and the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers have given the Cardinals a big boost of momentum moving forwards.

Against the Bulldogs, the Cardinals were simply too much. The home side used a pair of 50+ point halves to push themselves over the century mark for the first time since December 21st, 2016, when they put up 125 points on the Arlington Baptist Huskies.

Kavin Gilder-Tilbury recorded 14 points and 13 rebounds to help Texas State advance to the second round of the CIT. (Source: Texas State Bobcats)

SAN MARCOS, Tex. — Instate battles in the regular season are always exciting.

When they take place in the post-season, and the stakes are much, much higher, they get taken to another level.

On Thursday night down in San Marcos, Texas, the CIT provided an all-Texas battle in the first round. The Lamar Cardinals, who were making their first appearance in the post-season since 2012, went on the road to take on the Texas State Bobcats, who fell in the Sun Belt tournament finale over the weekend.

While it’s not considered an instate rivalry by any means, having bragging rights over a team in your same state is never a bad thing.

On their home court, the Bobcats came out with a strong first half, setting the tone towards the end of the frame. An 11-1 run by the Bobcats gave them a nine-point lead, which would expand to a 12-point lead at the break.

The second half saw Lamar try to cut into the lead and get back into the game, but Texas State always had an answer for what the Cardinals threw at them.